Weird Fiction discussion

I was unsure at first whether to put Kubin under artists or writers of Weird. We have separate folders for each and he was both. But he does not have so many writings and almost none of those have been translated. So into the artists section he goes.

The novel he is associated with is titled Die andere Seite (1909), The Other Side, a dystopic fantasy. Two excerpts have been translated from it into English: "Under the Spell" (1993) and "The Other Side" (2011). They may be from the same part of the book and very similar, have overlapping parts, or be from completely different parts, I have no idea. The latter excerpt is carried in The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories and is excellent. Very dark of course.

His art is even more interesting. He was one of the great symbolists that emerged after the turn of the last century. His extensive work really can't be discussed without context to his life. I found a Spanish youtube video that is subtitled and placed it in our video section. I highly recommend it, but must warn you that it's disturbing and should only be viewed when no children are around to see over your shoulder.

The whole novel is available in English from Dedalus.

Wakefield Press also recently published a newly translated Decadent novel with wonderful custom illustrations by Kubin: Samalio Pardulus by Otto Julius Bierbaum.

Merl beat me to the link to Mike Mitchell's translation of the whole book, which is utterly brilliant. 'Under the Spell' is one chapter from the book's second section.

Stop giving me ideas! I have that "Weird" book and it is SOOOO big! I don't want to try to read the whole thing!

Great to know the entire book has been translated. I liked the excerpt well enough to order the entire book. I have to know more about who this unintroduced (in the excerpt) American was, for one thing.

I did a lot more research and have discovered that contrary to what Wikipedia indicated--I've corrected the entry, included a reference too--The Other Side was Kubin's one and only work of fiction. I'm so grateful to soon have a complete translation of it. Thanks again for letting me know it existed.

Kubin's other writing was autobiographical, and books that displayed his art. Those are available in English too, but I'm satisfied with what I see on the Internet in those regards.

Excuse my ignorance, but I'd not heard of Kubin prior to this discussion. Just watched the youtube video and found it very interesting. I wonder how many of those anecdotes are true? That monkey story!!! The artwork is incredible! I love delving into the minds of such artists and gaining insight into what made them tick.

That was a great documentary. Kubin's work is haunting, disturbing, and suggestive, making me wonder what's happening off screen.